Realization in the middle of the night
by FlatterMon
Summary: Ash can't sleep and decides to go for a bit of fresh air. But what happens when he is confronted by Dawn and tells her his true feelings? Pearlshipping, AshxDawn, SatoshixHikari, SatoHika. ONESHOT.


**This is my first ever fanfiction, so try to go easy on me!**

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It was late, no doubt about that. He had been lying there, restless, for quite a while, unable to sleep or get even the slightest form of rest. His mind had been going on and on for what seemed like an eternity, although he had no idea how long it had really been.

His name was Ash, the pokémon trainer from Pallet Town. A typical young guy, but with one notable feature; his distinct black raven hair.

After a silent sigh he decided to get up, take a walk and maybe that way calm his mind. He tried to be as quiet as possible, knowing that he was surrounded by friends who were already dreaming deeply.

Before fixing his fingers around the cold doorknob he took a quick scan around the room: Pikachu, the little yellow pokémon, his best friend, was lying peacefully on the same bed he had just left, curled up like a little ball. Ash made a slight smile as he noticed just how adorable Pikachu seemed to look while sleeping like that.

Across the room, in a separate bed, Brock, the pokémon breeder, was sleeping. He seemed to be hugging his pillow in an unusual way.

" _I wouldn't be surprised if he is dreaming that that pillow is nurse Joy._" Ash thought to himself.

Brock was a bit older than Ash, and so seemed to show a lot more interest in the opposite sex, especially nurse Joy, as he was never late to express his everlasting love to her.

Ash slowly turned the doorknob, feeling his biceps and triceps flex slightly as he pulled the extraordinarily heavy door towards him. As the door started to move, its old hinges starting making faint noises, which immediately froze Ash's movement. He closed his eyes and listened… Luckily nobody had been disturbed by the sounds.

Still in his pajamas, he put on a pair of sneakers, and crept out into the halls of the pokémon center. Everything was dark and unusually quiet, except for a somewhat large clock which caught Ash's attention due to the constant tick-tock.

"_02.56 AM. God I wish I could get some sleep, I'm so tired."_ Were the thoughts going through his head as he made progress towards the exit.

As he opened the door, he was met by a chilly, but somewhat comfortable and refreshing gust of wind, which sent sudden shivers down his spine. The sky was immensely beautiful, with loads of stars scattered everywhere around the brightly-shining full moon.

Ash noticed a large tree in the middle of the field, and decided to sit beneath it for just a while, as it might be able to help his raging insomnia. Gently leaning his strong back against the tree's trunk filled him with a form of emptiness he hadn't experienced before. He was unsure as to why he was experienced it, maybe it was the wind and the somewhat chilly weather, or maybe the stunning night sky. He started to think about his situation and the lack of sheep he had been experienced.

To tell the truth, this wasn't the first night Ash had been unable to rest. He kept telling himself that his condition was caused by the intense training he and his pokémon were constantly put under, combined with his high expectation of his own performance in the upcoming Sinnoh League. But deep, deep down he was very well aware that the reason was something completely different and new to this young man. He had started to develop feelings for a certain girl.

Dawn was her name, and she was a pokémon coordinator. She had joined Ash and Brock on their journey a few years ago, and had recently won her 5th ribbon, allowing her to enter the Grand Festival.

In the middle of all his thinking, Ash's eyelids had started to feel heavy, and he was slowly but surely drifting in and out of awareness.

"Hey Ash!" Ash snapped out of his near-sleep-stage and looked surprised around. It was Dawn's voice, and she was approaching with a solid pace.

"Mind if I sit down?"

"Sure, go ahead." He replied with a slight discomfort to his voice, nothing she was able to perceive though.

"You woke me up when you left the center, how come you are up at this hour? Bad dreams?" Her voice was sharp, but hinted a slight concern, something Ash immediately took notice of.

"I… I just couldn't sleep, so I walked out here to clear my mind." He said.

"I have noticed that this isn't the first time you sneak out at night unable to sleep, Ash. Is something wrong? Maybe I can help if you tell me."

"It's… It's really nothing to worry about. Hey, no need to worry right?" Although he tried his best, he was unable to make that sound even remotely believable, and so he faced the ground instead of the horizon, immensely trying to avoid any form of contact with Dawn.

"_What's wrong with me?"_ He thought to himself. Why was he feeling this way? Was it really all because of Dawn, could she be the reason? Ash had been around girls before but he had never ever seen them in the same light, nor felt anything similar to his current feelings.

The thing was, that Dawn wasn't just Dawn. When he looked, or rather gazed, at her he saw a girl so full of determination, humor and endless beauty, he possibly couldn't ignore her. But the thing Ash enjoyed the most about Dawn was her eyes. Whenever the two of them made eye contact, the only things he could think about was her amazing blue, sea-like eyes, and the wish of never ever leaving her side.

Dawn answered his somewhat dim try at calming her concern, by moving closer to him, causing him to blush slightly at the unusual situation.

"Ash?" Dawn said, merely waiting for his response before continuing. He eventually nodded, and she carried on talking.

"Don't you just love the look of the sky? The stars, the moon, everything is so beautiful."

"Yeah, I guess it's okay." Ash responded with a faint voice. Dawn suddenly made a twist with her body, resulting in her moving slightly closer to Ash, but at the same time looking right at him. Ash, confused at the scene, turned his head, now staring directly into her big blue eyes, feeling despair and sorrow, thus putting on a sad expression, catching Dawn's attention.

"Ash please tell me what's wrong, I can see something is troubling you." She said. Several seconds passed and an awkward silence seemed to make its entrance, only until Ash let out a deep and drawn-out sigh.

"Dawn you have to promise me that you won't laugh or get angry when I tell you this." After asking he found the needed confirmation in her eyes, sparkling vividly in the moonlight.

"You remember after you won your 5th ribbon? Well I won my 8th badge, allowing me to compete in the Sinnoh League. I remember being so thrilled that day, right until the evening when Brock told us we were heading for the Grand Festival and League next. That night I kept thinking how our journey was coming to an end as I would have to go back to Kanto after it was done, and you had to stay here in Sinnoh. It saddened me… deeply."

Dawn was silent, starring right into Ash's eyes unable to speak a word. So he decided to keep on going. He figured that since he had already told so much, he might as well get it all out.

"I started remembering all our past adventures, how you always cheered me up when I was feeling down, and stuck by my side no matter what. I guess… I guess I just didn't want it to end all of sudden since I was really starting to like you in every way possible, and not just as a friend, but something more..."

He said. Ash looked at Dawn without any response, then at the ground as a tiny tear fell from his cheek unto the grass. He was sobbing, no doubt about it.

"Tomorrow I'll leave you and Brock… I… I just can't stand watching you without feeling ashamed and heartbroken, and that way I would just be a burden at the Grand Festival."

His words were filled with intense sorrow and disappointment, and just as he was about to get up from the dark grass he felt something warm touching his cold and shaking fingers. It was Dawn's hand gently caressing his. He looked her right in the eyes, feeling a slight blush appear but did nothing to hide it. Instead she moved so close to him that they were shoulder to shoulder, where after she let her head rest on his strong shoulder.

"I've always loved you Ash, ever since I first saw you smile. Thank you for finally telling me how you feel."

He felt a sudden urge to scream out loud and let every emotion of anger, sadness, and joy out of his body, but he chose not to. Instead his response came in a quick movement, letting his hand snake itself around her waist, gently kissing her forehead like he had dreamed of doing so many times.

"Promise me you'll never leave." He said, in a tone showing the deepest of affection and hope. Then, as if out of nowhere, he heard the four most precious words he ever knew coming straight from his beloved's mouth:

"No need to worry."

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**Any reviews will be greatly appreciated, and if I don't get too many negative ones, I'll consider writing more.**

**Thanks.**


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